Separated Sibling Shelter Cats Reunited In Petaluma By Owners' Romance

PETALUMA (KPIX) -- This story begins in 2014 when Cathleen Cavin of Petaluma took her daughter to the animal shelter to get a kitten. They picked out an orange one and took "Ozzy" home but Cathleen always felt guilty that she had separated it from its sibling. So, she promised her daughter she would find Ozzy's brother.

"I felt horrible. Who makes a promise like that? Needles in a haystack (is what) I was telling her I was going to find," Cathleen remembers.

Cathleen didn't find the cat but, two years later, she did find Brian Herrera on a dating website. The two hit if off. Then Cathleen went to Brian's house.

Brian Herrera recounted the scene.

"(Cathleen) notices a cat scurry by and she stops everything and says, 'that's my cat!' And I say, 'no way, that's MY cat, what are you talking about?'-- thinking she's this crazy cat lady. And she just kept going, 'that's my cat!' So, I'm thinking 'OK, red flags! What's going on?'"

Turns out, Cathleen wasn't crazy at all. They checked shelter records and found that Ozzy and Butter were, in fact, the long-lost brothers. And recently they began getting re-acquainted because Cathleen and Brian plan to move in together next month.

Kathy Sousa, with the Petaluma Animal Services Foundation was thrilled. "My first thought was, I hope the cats get along together, they've been separated for 3 years! But, they are, so that's good."

And there have been other eerie parallels in the couple's lives, including living in various Marin County towns at the same time without ever meeting. Cathleen believes it was all just meant to be.

"With so much in common, it's just bizarre and then to have our cats be brothers ... it's total destiny. Yeah, it's Fate," Cathleen said.

Brian is quick to point out that they are not engaged -- yet. But then, who is he to stand in the way of destiny?